My experience at Rarotonga was  unforgettable. The whole staff and all the students were really open-minded and positive. This means we participated not just in culturally diverse activities but in general very new and diverse social experiences and activities. The whole country was rich in culture which was my favourite part. At night you would hear all these sounds from the locals having late-night dance practices  in nearby halls and parks for their upcoming festival. Street dogs would sit outside our hostel waiting for us to sneak food to them and then sit beside us as we had our late-night daily review sessions with our syndicates. All the locals were really welcoming and would say "Kia Organa" as they passed you by and it was the perfect balance of life near nature and fast-paced routine.  

Our everyday life looked like early morning wake-ups with loud trendy music, rushing to a series of outdoor activities - business visits, hiking, visits to research organizations, beach cleanups, island craft and soap making, etc. After that some group leadership activities, then a swim in the ocean, a stop at the ice cream shop, dinner and then some more activities, and planning for the next day. We took part in many cultural activities related to the Cook Islands like making our umu, hearing about how the Cook Islands' name came to be, hearing stories from the locals about the misinterpretations of the Cook Islands' history around the world, and learning to make coconut milk. 

We ended the second day with a cultural performance competition among all four syndicates (with no winners). I had the opportunity to lead and teach an Indian dance to my syndicate which was really fun and special to me as I don’t see a lot of Indian culture representation in any of the camps I go to, or New Zealand in general. Our syndicate got tons of compliments and it was the favorite part for a lot of coaches and students. 

I also got to see many other cultural performances including a Cook Island dance and Maori songs and chants. On the last day, we had our graduation at a 5-star resort which was by the beach side. We all dressed up in our pretty outfits in less than 30 minutes after coming back from our early morning cruise and snorkeling experience. At the graduation, we all got our certificates with one souvenir and sang one Maori, Cook Island and Aussie song. We ended the trip with tears at the Auckland airport while saying ‘goodbye’.

Avni Batra